PETER.6.THQMSON 

CINCINNATI.O 


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BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST. 


THERE  was  once  a  merchant  who  had  Been  very  rich  at  one 
time,  but  who,  having  had  heavy -.losses,  was  compelled  to 
retire  to  a  little  cottage  in  the  country;  where  he  lived  with  his 
three  daughters.  The  two  elder  ones  w^ere  very  much  discontented 
at  their  poverty,  and  were  always  grumbling  and  making  com- 
plaints. But  the  youngest  one,  who  was  called  Beauty,  and  who 
was  as  amiable  as  she  was  handsome,  tried  all  she  could  to  comfort 
her  father  and  make  his  home  happy. 

Once,  when  he  was  going  on  a  journey  to  try  and  mend  his  affairs, 
he  called  them  around  him,  and  asked  them  what  he  should  bring 
them  when  he  returned.  The  two  eMer  ones  wanted  each  a  num- 
ber of  nice  presents ;  but  Beauty,  kissing  him  sweetly,  said  she 
would  be  content  with  a  rose.  So  when  the  merchant  was  on  his 
way  back,  he  came  to  an  elegant  garden,  of  which  the  gate  stood 
open ;  and  thinking  of  Beauty's  rose,  he  went  in,  and  plucking  a 
beautiful  one,  prepared  to  proceed  on  his  journey. 

As  he  turned  to  go,  he  saw  a  hideous  Beast  coming  towards  him, 
armed  with  a  sword !  This  terrible  creature  reproached  him  fyr 
stealing  his  flowers, of  which  he  was  very  choice;  and  threatened 
to  kill  him  on.  the  spot !  The  merchant  begged  for  his  life,  and 
said,  that  he  had  only  taken  "a  sinsrle  one  to  please  his  daughter 


/V\E?ja/<AKY  AT^D  jX^  BEAST 


3  BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST. 

Beauty/'  On  this,  the  beast  said  gruffly,  "  well,  I  will  let  you  off, 
if  you  will  bring  one  of  your  daughters  here  in  your  place.  .But 
she  must  come  here  willingly,  and  meanwhile  you  may  stay  and 
rest  in  my  palace  until  to-morrow.*'  But,  as  you  may  well  believe, 
the  poor  father  did  not  feel  much  like  eating  or  sleeping  ;  although 
everything  was  done  for  his  comfort,  and,  in  the  morning,  the 
Beast  sent  him  h  jme  upon  a  beautiful  horse.  But  though  the  birds 
sang  around  him,  and  the  sun  shone  brightly,  and  all  nature  was 
smiling  on  his  path,  the  heart  of  the  poor  merchant  was  heavy, 
when  he  thought  of  his  beloved  daughters. 

When  he  came  near  his  home,  his  children  came  forth  to  meet 
him ;  but,  seeing  the  sadness  of  his  face,  and  his  eyes  filled  with 
tears,  they  asked  him  the  cause  of  his  trouble.  Giving  the  rose  to 
Beauty,  he  told  her  all.  The  two  elder  sisters  laid  all  the  blame 
upon  Beauty;  who  cried  bitterly,  and  said  that  as  she  was  the  cause 
of  her  father's  misfortune,  she  alone  must  suffer  for  it,  and  was  quite 
willing  to  go.  So  Beauty  got  ready  for  the  journey  at  once.  The 
father  (who  meant  to  return  to  the  Beast  himself,  after  embracing 
his  children)  tried  to  dissuade  her,  but  in  vain ;  and  so  the  two  set 
out  together  for  the  Beast's  palace,  much  to  the  secret  joy  of  the 
envious  sisters. 

When  they  arrived  at  the  palace,  the  doors  opened  of  themselves, 
sweet  music  was  heard,  and  they  found  an  elegant  supper  prepared. 
As  soon  as  they  had  refreshed  themselves,  the  Beast  entered,  and 
said  in  a  mild  tone,  "  Beauty,  did  you  come  here  willingly  to  take 
the  place  of  your  father?"  "  Yes,  sir,"  she  answered  in  a  sweet 
but  trembling  voice.  <l  So  much  the  better  for  you,"  replied  the 
Beast.  "  Your  father  can  stay  here  to-night,  but  he  must  go  home 
in  the  morning."  The  Beast  then  retire'1,,  giving  Beauty  so  kind 
a  look  as  he  went  out,  that  she  felt  quite  encouraged.  The  next 


BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST.  4 

morning,  when  her  father  left  her,  she  cheered  his  heart  by  telling 
him  that  she  thought  she  could  soften  the  Beast's  heart,  and  induce 
him  to  spare  her  life.  After  he  was  gone,  she  entered  an  elegant  room, 
on  the  doorof  which  was  written,  in  letters  of  gold,  "Beauty's  room." 
Lying  on  the  table  was  a  portrait  of  herself,  set  in  gold  and 
diamonds,  and  on  the  wall,  these  words:  "  Beauty  is  Queen  here- 
all  things  will  obey  her."  Her  meals  were  served  to  the  sound  of  music; 
and  at  supper-time,  the  Beast  after  knocking  timidly,  would  walk 
in  and  talk  so  amiably,  that  she  soon  lost  all  fear  of  him;  and  once 
when  he  failed  to  come,  felt  quite  disappointed  !  At  last,  one  night, 
he  said  to  her,  "  Am  I  so  very  ugly?"  tl  Yes,  indeed,  you  are,"  said 
Beauty,"  but  you  are  so  kind  and  generous,  that  I  do  not  mind  your 
looks."  Will  you  marry  me,  then,  dear  Beauty  ?"  said  the  poor 
Beast,  with  a  look  of  such  eager  entreaty  in  his  eyes,  that  Beauty's 
heart  melted  within  her,  and  she  was  upon  the  point  of  saying 
"Yes!" 

But  happening  to  look  towards  him,  at  that  moment^  her  courage 
failed  her,  and,  turning  away  her  head,  she  replied  softly,  ''  Oh  !  do 
not  ask  me."  The  Beast  then  bade  her  good-night,  with  a  sad 
voice,  and  went  away  sighing  as  if  his  heart  would  break  The 
palace  was  full  of  rooms,  containing  the  most  beautiful  objects.  In 
one  room  she  saw  a  numerous  troupe  of  monkeys,  of  all  sizes  and 
colors.  They  came  to  meet  her,  making  her  very  low  bows,  and 
treating  her  with  the  greatest  respect.  Beauty  was  much  pleased 
with  them,  and  asked  them  to  show  her  about  the  palace.  In- 
stantly, two  tall  and  graceful  apes,  in  rich  dresses,  placed  them- 
selves, with  great  gravity,  one  on  each  side  of  her,  while  two 
sprightly  little  monkeys  held  up  her  train  as  pages.  And  from  this 
time  forth  they  waited  upon  her  wherever  she  went,  with  all  the 
attention  and  respect,  that  officers  of  a  royal  palace  are  accustomed 


/  BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST. 

to  pay  to  the  greatest  Queens  and  Prinr< 

In  fact,  Beauty  was  the  Queen  of  this  splendid  palace.  She  had 
only  to  wish  for  anything  to  have  it ;  and  she  would  have  been 
quite  contented  if  she  could  have  had  some  company  ;  for,  except  at 
supper-time,  she  was  always  alone  !  Then  the  Beast  would  come  in 
and  behave  so  agreeably,  that  she  liked  him  more  and  more.  And 
when  he  would  say  to  her  "  dear  Beauty  will  you  marry  me?  "  in 
his  soft  and  tender  way,  she  could  hardly  find  it  in  her  heart  to 
refuse  him. 

Now,  although  Beauty  had  evarything  that  heart  could  wish, 
she  could  not  forget  her  father  and  sisters.  At  last,  one  evening 
she  begged  so  hard  to  go  home  for  a  visit,  that  the  Beast  consented 
to  her  wish,  on  her  promising  not  to  stay  more  than  two  months. 
He  then  gave  her  a  ring,'  telling  her  to  place  it  on  her  dressing- 
table,  when  she  wished  either  to  go  or  return  ;  and  showed  her  a 
wardrobe  filled  with  the  most  elegant  clothes,  as  well  as  a  quantity 
of  splendid  presents  for  her  father  and  sisters. 

The  poor  Beast  was  more  sad  than  ever,  after  he  had  given  his 
consent  to  her  absence.  It  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  could  not  look  at 
her  enough,  nor  muster  courage  to  leave  her.  She  tried  to  cheer 
him,  saying,  ll  Be  of  good  heart,  Beauty  will  soon  return,"  but 
nothing  seemed  to  comfort  him,  and  he  went  sadly  away. 

Beauty  felt  very  badly  when  she  saw  how  much  the  poor  Beast 
suffered.  She  tried,  however,  to  dismiss  him  from  her  thoughts,  and 
to  think  only  of  the  joy  of  seeing  her  dear  father  and  sisters  on  the 
morrow.  Before  retiring  to  rest,  she  took  good  care  to  place  the 
ring  upon  the  table,  and  great  was  her  joy,  on  awaking  the  next 
morning,  to  find  herself  in  her  father's  house,  with  the  clothes  aiul 
gifts  from  the  palace  at  her  bed-side  ! 

At  first  she  hardly  knew  where  she   wras,  for  everything  looked 


BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST.  8 

strange  to  her  ;  but  soon  she  heard  the  voice  of  her  father,  and,  rush- 
i:ig  out  of  the  room,  threw  her  loving  arms  around  his  neck. 
Heauty  then  related  all  the  kindness  and  delicacy  of  the  Beast  to- 
ward her,  and  in  return  discovered  that  he  had  been  as  liberal  to 
her  father  and  sisters.  He  had  given  them  the  large  and  handsome 
house  in  which  they  rxow  lived,  with  an  income  sufficient  to  keep 
them  in  comfort. 

For  a  long  time  Beauty  was  happy  with  her  father  and  sisters ; 
but  she  soon  discovered  that  her  sisters  were  jealous  of  her,  and 
envied  her  the  fine  dresses  and  jewels  the  Beast  had  given  her. 
She  often  thought  tenderly  of  the  poor  Beast,  alone  in  his  palace; 
and  as  the  two  months  were  now  over,  she  resolved  to  return  to 
him  as  she  had  promised.  But  her  father  could  not  bear  to  lose  her 
again,  and  coaxed  her  to  stay  with  him  a  few  days  longer ;  which 
she  at  last  consented  to  do,  with  many  misgivings,  when  she 
thought  of  her  broken  promise  to  the  lonely  beast.  At  last,  on  the 
night  before  she  intended  to  return,  she  dreamed  that  she  saw  the 
unhappy  beast  lying  dead  on  the  ground  in  the  palace  garden! 
She  awoke,  all  trembling  with  terror  and  remorse,  and,  leaving  a 
note  on  the  table  for  her  dear  father ;  placed  the  ring  within  her 
bosom,  and  wished  herself  back  again  in  the  palace.  As  soon  as 
daylight  appeared,  she  called  her  attendants,  and  searched  the  pal- 
ace from  top  to  bottom.  But  the  Beast  was  nowhere  to  be  found ! 
She  then  ran  to  the  garden,  and  there,  in  the  very  spot  that  she 
had  seen  in  her  dream,  lay  the  poor  Beast,  gasping  and  sense- 
less upon  the  ground;  and  seeming  to  be  in  the  agonies  of  death ! 
At  this  pitiful  sight,  Beauty  clasped  her  hands,  fell  upon  her  knees, 
ind  reproached  herself  bitterly  for  having  caused  his  death. 

"  Alas  !  poor  Beast  !"•  she  said,  "Jam  the  cause  of  this.  How  can 
I  ever  forgive  myself  for  my  un kindness  to  you,  who  were  so  good 


BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST. 

and  generous  to  me,  and  mine,  and  never  even  reproached  me  for 
my  cruelty?" 

She  then  ran  to  a  fountain  for  cold  water,  which  she  sprinkled 
over  him,  her  tears  meanwhile  falling  fast  upon  his  hideous  face. 
In  a  few  moments  the  Beast  opened  his  eyes,  and  said,  "now,  that 
I  see  you  once  more,  I  shall  die  contented."  "  No,  no,!"  she  cied, 
"  you  shall  not  die ;  you  shall  live,  and  Beauty  will  be  your  faithful 
wife !"  The  moment  she  uttered  these  words,  a  dazzling  light  shone 
around — the  palace  was  brilliantly  lighted  up,  and  the  air  was 
filled  with  delicious  music. 

In  place  of  the  terrible  and  dying  Beast,  she  saw  a  young  and 
handsome  Prince,  who  knelt  at  her  feet,  and  told  her  that  he  had 
been  condemned  to  wear  the  form  of  a  frightful  Beast,  until  a 
beautiful  girl  should  love  him  in  spite  of  his  ugliness  1  At  the 
same  moment,  the  Apes,  and  the  Monkeys,  who  had  been  in  atten- 
dance upon  her,  were  transformed  into  elegantly  dressed  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  who  ranged  themselves  at  a  respectful  distance,  and 
performed  their  duties,  as  Gentlemen,  and  Maids  of  Honor.  The 
grateful  Prince  now  claimed  Beauty  for  his  wife;  and  she  who  had 
loved  him,  even  under  the  form  of  the  Beast,  was  now  tenfold  more 
in  love  with  him,  as  he  appeared  in  his  rightful  form.  So  the  very 
next  day,  Beauty  and  the  Prince  were  married  with  great  splendor, 
and  lived  happily  together  for  ever  after. 


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PUBLISHER,  CINCINNATI,  O. 

^^  -^' 


